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Diplodocus
Diplodocus was a 30 meter long, 15-25 ton sauropod dinosaur from the late Jurassic time period (165 - 145 MYA) that lived on the territory of the modern Western United States. Other potential Diplodocus ''specimens, as ''Seismosaurus, were 15 meters longer and weighed nearly 7 times as much, making Diplodocus perhaps one of the longest dinosaurs on Earth. Facts Diplodocus was one of, if not, the longest sauropod animals ever to live. Seismosaurus, a synonym of Diplodocus, was 39-53.9 meters long (45 meters on average) and possibly over 100 tonnes in weight making it the longest animal that has ever existed and possibly the largest land animal. In fact, it was so large that even a pack of allosaurs wasn't able to hunt fully grown specimens (though they would attack individuals which are weak, sick, old, injured and young). They lived in huge herds, sometimes up to 100 dinosaurs, led by a matriarch, as the modern elephants do. )]]When they are newly hatched, they usually rest for an instant and then, along with other hatchlings, head for the deep forest as fast as their legs can carry them. After hatching, for the next few months, they need the cover of the deep forests and their only chance of survival will be to hide to predators among the vegetation. They hide beneath a dense layer of ferns and start their life-long obsession with eating. When they are newly hatched, they only weigh a few kilograms. But they will have to grow by one ton a year until their adults. That’s an astonishing 2-3 kilograms a day. When faced with danger the hatchlings, baby ''Diplodocus, or “sauropodlets”, lie very still and depend on their camouflage for protection. After a year goes by, baby Diplodocus can measure over three-meters long and weigh as much as a full-grown horse. And they stick together with others in a crèche for safety. After five years, Diplodocus can measure twelve meters long and weigh over five tons. They also developed the spines and long whipped tails of adult hood. These creatures can reach full grown adult size in less than 10 years. )]]At full grown length, ''Diplodocus are known for being the longest of all sauropods, averaging 90 feet long. For protection, they move in herds of 30 or more and some of the older ones would be over 40 meters in length. They use their very strong but stiff necks to graze over large areas with little effort. To balance their necks, they have long tails with elegant whip-like ends they are used for communication between members of the herd. Such a huge herd on the move attracts an array of small animals. As they eat and trample the vegetation, insects swarm around them. Each adult Diplodocus drops over a ton of dung on the prairie every day. Their teeth are more suited for soft, green leaves rather than woody branches. One of the reasons these creatures are so massive is that it allows them to have and extremely long gut which allows them to digest even the toughest of Jurassic vegetation. Like the Scutosaurus, whole leaves pass into the Diplodocus’ guts where stones they have swallowed help grind their food down so that bacteria ferment it and release nutrients. It is a process that produces a lot of excess gas. Diplodocus herds can contain a range of members, from 12-metered-long adolescents to gigantic old adults…three times their size. Diplodocus may had a long lifespan sometimes up to 120 years (it could be shorter lifespan if it is a warm-blooded animal like most dinosaurs). Diplodocus hatchlings ate 2-3 kilograms(4-6 pounds) per day, until they reached young adulthood. Diplodocus probably lived in a symbiotic relationship with a small pterosaur called Anurognathus that cleaned ticks and other parasites that lived on skin of Diplodocus. In the series ''Walking With Dinosaurs Time of the Titans '')]]''Diplodocus was the main focus of the episode. A female Diplodocus is seen laying a clutch of football-sized eggs in the middle of a forest before leaving to join the rest of the travelling herd. The clutch of eggs was discovered by an Ornitholestes. Whilst feeding on the dead babies, several surviving baby Diplodocus emerge from underneath the ground. Fortunately for the Diplodocus, the Ornitholestes was too busy eating the already killed babies. One female sauropodlet had to rest but then joined the rest of the babies scurrying to the safety of denser forest. When they found somewhere to hide, they began eating the ferns on the forest floor - a habit that will be important for the rest of their lives. As an Ornitholestes passed by, the sauropodlets lay motionless to avoid being noticed. It then cut to a herd of adult Diplodocus roaming the Jurassic plains. They began feeding whilst flocks of Anurognathus began feeding, fighting and breeding on the giants. As the giants defacate on the praries, the dung beetles come in. )]]The crèche of juvenile ''Diplodocus are browsing in a canyon until a large male Stegosaurus came to feed. The Stegosaurus attracted the attention of two Allosaurus nearby. The crèche flees from the Allosaurus but one of the sauropodlets is killed. They flee past the Stegosaurus who swings its thagomizer at one of the sauropodlets and kills it. When the sauropodlets found safety, they began eating again. The female sauropodlet found the skeleton of a large adult Diplodocus. After the crèche realises that they are at the edge of the forest, they move into deeper forest. An adult herd of Diplodocus are seen knocking down trees so that they could eat the ferns in-between them. Whilst doing so, they pass gas. The crèche now looking more like adult Diplodocus, are seen in the forest feeding whilst Anurognathus cling to them. They move to a river and start drinking but they catch the scent of wood smoke - a sign of a forest fire. The crèche flees but due to their large size, they can only walk away. After the forest fire, the crèche move out onto open prairies where they travel with a Brachiosaurus. )]]The crèche began drinking in a lake until they saw a herd of adult ''Diplodocus. The crèche joins the herd. Five years later, the crèche is now part of the herd. They then stop to breed. Two males clash in order to win dominance. A young male approached the female Diplodocus. Using infrasound, the female told the male that she was receptive. The male mounts the female. A couple of days later the herd had calmed and the female feeds on ferns outside the herd. However, she is being watched by a pair of Allosaurus. One chases her and leaps onto her side. The female knocks him off and flees. The other Allosaurus pursues her. She tries to make herself look bigger but nothing works. Suddenly, the long tail of a larger Diplodocus hits the Allosaurus and saves the female. She then rejoins the herd and travel ever further. ''The Ballad of Big Al '')]]''Diplodocus ''appears as a major creature in the special. A large herd of ''Diplodocus are traveling across a salt pan whilst being followed by Big Al and a pack of Allosaurus. The pack targets an old and sick individual. Big Al starts running towards the herd, causing them to scatter. As the Diplodocus run in all directions, the Allosaurus start attacking the sick Diplodocus. Big Al attempts to attack it but is knocked down by the Diplodocus. The pack of Allosaurus decide to wait for the Diplodocus to succumb to its injuries. Later during the day, it died. Trivia *''Diplodocus''' model was reused for the Apatosaurus in The Ballad of Big Al but with the spines and stripes on the tail removed. Category:Herbivores Category:Walking with Wikia Category:Walking with Dinosaurs Animals Category:Time of the Titans animals Category:The Ballad of Big Al animals Category:Sea Monsters Animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 1 animals